


You Seem Impressed

by RandomWriter71



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: David doing his best, M/M, Slow Burn, he helps others but never himself, mentions of abuse, mentions of mental health issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-10 17:11:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20855336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomWriter71/pseuds/RandomWriter71
Summary: David is a physiatrist at a Mental institution that deals with everything from someone dealing with depression to a pervert seeking help by court. Or even to a small ten year old child that’s been passed on from place to place, who had the worst mouth that David had ever heard on a child that young. He didn’t mind the chaos that comes from it, simply enjoying the thought of helping people!So, when his boss, Dr, Campbell, gets arrested out of the blue and is replaced with a man with ice cold blue eyes. Who only saw the numbers that went into the Institution rather than the people or patients there. But, while other therapists there saw Daniel as Satan reincarnated, David saw a man who was just hiding behind a wall he built.I've always been bad at summaries but know i want nothing more then warm Danvid family times eventually.





	1. Chapter 1- Normal

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are! the start of a very long fic, when i say slow burn, i mean slower then a turtle in the desert. This story is focused mostly around David's POV, and will eventually be a Danvid story, though knowing my writing style it's gonna be along run before then.  
Warning! this story will be covering some heavy topics such as serious mental health conditions, past abuse, and mentions of suicid, i will put a warning before any chapter that deals with a certain topic, so please read at your own discretion!

"So, You've always had these urges Mr. Free?" David said as he was hunched over in his chair. He quickly jotted down the question before he sat up and smiled warmly at his patient who was sitting at the edge of his bed, his hands knitting together while he played with his thumbs. His leg jumped up and down and his head was dropped down so that David couldn't see his face. 

David noticed that for the few weeks he's had this patient, noting it in his records and trying to turn up friendliness up a notch to try and make the man look. But, nothing worked, just a man who constantly looked down. He knew the man was feeling regret but David could tell he was going to be a long term case overall. 

David got a stiff nod from Mr. Free as confirmation, writing it down in his pad as well as a few noted to remind him to return to that. 

The man was a pervert, four kids coming forward and each of them giving the same description. He was even caught with try to take a eight year old, almost immediately being sentenced to twenty five years in prison. But, on the grounds of good behaviour, he was able to convince the court that he was sick and, with help, he could become a regular citizen again. 

But again, with what David had and the little progress they made, it would take awhile of any of that to happen. David was determined though, if the patient wanted to make things better and change then he would make sure to help in any way he could!

Which is probably why he had this job so long, while most of the other therapists would have dropped many of his patients and called them lost causes. David did not, he saw the good in people over the bad that they might have done. Treating all his patients the same even if they had killed someone or raped or was just there to get help with depression and anxiety. 

He really didn't work with a set group, the mental institution he worked for took in anyone and everyone who was willing to pay. He didn't like how it sounded but Mr. Campbell, the owner of the institution, assured him that he was in it for the people not the money. David believed him, after all with all the stories about Mr. Campbell saving people who wouldn't trust him?

David was about to ask another question but high chime from his wrist stopped him, apologizing to Mr. Free as he checked his watch. gasping when he realized that he was ten minutes over this session, effectively cutting into someone else's therapy time. He got up and gathered his things, bidding Mr. Free a goodbye and a promise to continue next session before almost speed walking out of the room. 

He tried to be on time for all his sessions, making sure all of his patients felt equal and cared for but sometimes David could be a bit of a clutz with keeping track of everything. They didn't really have a boss as Mr. Campbell was out so often and this gave opportunity for people directly under him to go home or slack off a bit. This just leaving the therapists to run the institution, which David didn't mind either as this just gave him more control over how he works and over his patients. 

David made it to his next session only a few minutes late, breathing out an apology as he took a seat in a chair near the door. He was careful and made sure to keep track of the time for the rest of the day, making sure to apologize whenever he checked his watch during a session. He was even able to get a headstart on his reports, he still had a lot of work to do but this way it lessened his load for that night. 

Or so he thought until half an hour before his shift ended his replacement had called him and said they were gonna be an hour late. David didn't mind, choosing to just walk the halls and check in on patients that were up late to see how they were doing for an hour before his co-worker came in. 

He brushed off the long string of apologies that they gave when they finally came in, simply smiling and filling them in on certain patients that were high risk and on a flight risk. His voice cheery and light despite being tired enough to drop at any moment. 

He made sure his desk was cleared, reports he would need to fill out before his next shift were neatly put in his bag while everything else was put away into drawers of his desk, before he decided to go home. Slinging his bag over his shoulder before he started to head out. Saying goodnight to everyone he passed, even stopping by the front desk that worked late night for a quick chat before actually leaving.

The car ride back to his small apartment was quiet, he turned on his radio to play top hits softly in the background. His fingers tapping along to the beat of whatever songs that were playing while he waited at a stop light, taking the chance to just admire the wilderness around him. The institution was built in the middle of a forested area, a single road lead in and out from it and it was easily a half an hour away any other civilization. Campbell claimed that further away from other people meant that they could bring more attention to their patients and the patients could focus on themselves rather than the rest of the world. 

David agreed with him wholeheartedly, he would always try to push to take a group, along with a couple of other therapists, for a short walk. Sometimes, he would even be able to take one-on-ones with his patients out in the forest. The halls could be too noisy for a calm appointment or patients were just having a particularly bad day so David would take them out and just have them sit on a stump of a tree or a soft patch of grass when they couldn’t see the institution anymore. Sometimes there was talking or a conversation back and forth or other times it was just complete silence, both sides just enjoying the nature around them. 

David sighed as his eyes trailed up, getting lost for a second in the dark blue sky filled with tiny pinpricks of white and yellow. He didn’t know nay constellation, so to him it all looked like a jumbled mess but David could always appreciate beauty in something seemingly so chaotic. 

He didn’t realize that the light had turned green until a car behind him honked their horns, making the man jump in his seat with a squeak. Smiling apologetically to himself as he eased passed the intersection, the adrenaline from the scare kept him alert for the rest of the ride home. 

Pulling into the parking lot of his apartment around twelve, wasting no time in parking into whatever spot was open. He never minded walking. 

He took a minute to just close his eyes and breathe in, when he got a few breathes in he grabbed his bag and got out of his car. Locking his car as he was walking to his building, choosing the side entrance and take the stairs up to his floor rather then go around to the front. The red haired man panting slightly when he finally got to his apartment door, it was nights like these he regretted taking a room on the fifth floor. 

He shifted his bag to one side as he got his keys from his jacket pocket, fumbling around with the chain until he shook loose the one for his door. Straightening up as he unlocked his door, as soon as he pushed it open he was met with a crescendo of ‘mews’ from the darkness. 

He couldn’t help but smile as he took a step in, feeling something soft brush against his legs as he closed the door behind him. He leaned over to flick the lights on before glancing down to the grey cat that was rubbing herself against David to get some attention from the man. He chuckled when he reached down and the cat got up on her back paws to press her head into his palm. 

“Hey, pretty kitty”, David cooed as he scratched behind one of her ears, earning a deep purr from Gwen in return. He pulled his hand back just in time for Gwen to get enough of him and try to swing at him. 

David pouted at Gwen as she pushed off of him and walked off into the kitchen, it was creepy of how much the cat reminded him of the woman she was named after. Scratching him or just getting violent with him whenever he got too sweet with her, just as his friend would do whenever he tried to integrate music into therapy with their patients. David would even catch Gwen entranced in the tv he had but only when it was turned to some reality shows on networks he would usually never watch just like the therapist would do during her breaks. There were times where Gwen would be missing for an hour and David would find her in the breakroom watching those same shows. 

David’s smile turned sour as he kicked off his shoes from the memories that flashed across his mind. Those were his fondest memories with Gwen…

He was quickly pulled from his stupor when he heard howling from the kitchen, David dropping his bag as he was trying to hang it up to dash to the kitchen. He had to maneuver around some of his many potted plants, even pushing a branch out of his way- he really needed to replant that outside before it gets any bigger- before he got to the kitchen. 

He flicked on the light expecting some type of murder scene with how his cat was screaming, only to find Gwen by her empty food bowl. She looked up at David when he came into the kitchen and started to yowl again, stopping when the red haired man poured kibble into her food bowl. 

He gave Gwen a few pets down her back before he stood up, stretching his arms above his head and groaning when his shoulders popped in return. When he dropped them by his side he was hit with a wave of exhaustion, releasing a jaw-cracking yawn as he turned to the stove. Blearily, he read a ‘ _ 12:28’  _ in digital green numbers, or at least for a second as they started to blur together and shift out of place. 

He could get the work done tomorrow right? It was his day off and he wouldn’t mind staying in to get reports done if it meant he could get to bed earlier than usual. 

With that thought in mind, he mumbled a quiet good night to Gwen as he walked out of the kitchen, turning off any lights he had turned on as he went to his room. Closing the door behind him as he started to empty his pockets of keys and leftover change and placing it in a dish on his dresser. 

He went over his day as he stripped from his work clothes, it was one of the more calmer days compared to most. There was no screaming or any patients running away so that was always a plus and his sessions were all tame other than the emergency appointment he had. He was glad he could have days like this, apart from the chaos that could happen and that has happened, he was just grateful he could still have the somewhat chill days like this. 

He was pulled on some matching striped pajamas, shoving his old clothes in a hamper, before he slipped into bed. He flipped around and shifted positions until he was comfortably curled around the log he kept- yes,a literal log, David realized how ridiculous it was but it’s not like there’s anybody around to see it. 

There were days that gave him a sliver of doubt about what he was doing was the right choice, it would dig in like thorns whenever it was a particularly bad day. Curl around him like a vice and sink him deeper into any of his doubts but it would never last. He would always find his answer soon enough, always take out files of past patients and sometimes he would even pull out the card that one had sent him a few months after they were discharged. It would always help him get out of any funk, see the good in his job and be himself again. 

He enjoyed his job, he liked working with people and helping them out of whatever they were going through. He truly did, he even enjoyed his life in his small apartment filled to the brim with houseplants and his single cat. 

He enjoyed his life and he wouldn’t change it for anything in this world... 

...Even if it felt like there was a small part of him that was missing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for those of you who made it through the first chapter! i hope to get more out in a steady pace rather then my usual all at once or once every couple of months!


	2. Chapter 2- New Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David's day off doesn't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! back with another chapter and -gasp- it's within the week time frame i set myself?   
Ya'll just witnessed a miracle.   
Strap in as this chapter is a lot longer then i originally planned but this is just the beginning! Hope you enjoy!  
Just a note as well, I don't have a beta, so if you find any mistakes or errors please tell me and ill do my best to fix it.

David woke up too early to his phone going off on his dresser, the cheery upbeat tone mixed with the echod vibrations that came from it made the man sit up straight in his bed. It stopped a second after that and David was deciding whether it was important enough to answer or not but he quickly got his answer after that when it started to ring again. 

He stumbled out of bed, his leg got caught in the mess of bed sheets so when he actually tried to step out of his bed he just ended up up the floor in front of his dresser. Reaching up, he blindly patted around on the smooth wood until his fingers grazed his phone. With a groan he snatched his phone before bringing it down to him, his sleep addled mind curious of who could be calling him so early in the morning and on his day off!

He got his answer pretty quickly as he answered the call without looking, he rarely looked who was calling as he would answer no matter what it showed. He snapped awake when he heard the gruff voice of his boss, it was odd to get a call from him as he would leave David to his own devices and usually leave work early as well. David wouldn’t call him the best boss but at least he wasn’t too commanding or just never showed up. 

“David,there’s a situation over here”, He said directly after David’s sleepy ‘hello’, “We really need you here today. I know it’s your day off but we could really use the help”. 

David had a record of never turning down a call in so it was no surprise when he agreed to come in. What confused him the most is that his boss was purposefully being mysterious about the situation because when he asked what was happening, all he got in return was just an ambiguous ‘new patient situation’. 

David didn’t pry for more details as he was going to be there anyways, figuring he could get a better assessment of the situation if he saw it himself. 

“I’ll be there in about an hour, Mr. Ramsey!”, He told his boss as cheerfully as he untangled from his comforter. 

Mr. Ramsey thanked him before hanging up, leaving David on the floor with his phone now on the floor next to his head. He gave a long sigh as his body was desperate to relax once more, to get back in bed and sleep, to enjoy his day off. 

But, with the thought of work needing his help on his mind, it gave him enough determination to force the heavy blanket of weariness away. He gave himself a second more on the floor before he jumped up and started to get ready for the day.

He tried to think of reasons why his boss would call him for help, with the only clue being ‘new patient’ really narrowed it down. Maybe a new patient tried to run and they needed his help? He thought to himself as he was stripping off his pajamas in trade for a pair of plain beige green pants and paired it with a shirt that was a light green. He found neutral colors helped give him a let intimidating look, but he was never too casual with it as his work place did have at least a some type of standard!

Or maybe some type of violent patient? David shook his head as he was putting on his watch, they would have called someone bigger than him if they were dealing with a patient that was harming others. 

David gave up trying to guess, he was going to know soon enough anyways, favoring to pay more attention to Gwen. The feline making herself know as she meowed as loud as she could when she found the man awake. 

The man chuckled before he walked out of his room, his cat following a step beside him, to the kitchen. He picked up her empty food bowl and filled it with kibble and set it back, turning back to get the rest of his stuff but a particularly loud yowl made him stop. He whipped around and found Gwen by her bowl, her tail flicked about as she gave a cat version of a flat stare. 

David just stared back at his cat before he realized that he forgot about the wet food, he clicked his tongue as he went over to the drawer where he kept it in. His fingers grazing the rough surface of the normally smooth wood, Gwen was smart and she ended up finding out where he kept her wet food but she lacked the ability to actually open it but that never stopped her. 

“You’re spoiled, you know that right?” David chided Gwen as he dumped a portion of wet food into her food bowl, he still gave her a few pets down her back when she came up to eat. “I gotta go, they called me in and you know I can’t say no to them”. 

He spoke soft to his cat, his voice and the sharp crack of her crunching on kibble were the only sounds in the apartment. He knew she couldn’t understand him, though sometimes he doubted it as she would stare like she did, but he would still talk to her anyways. Sometimes just about his day or about something happening at work. Sometimes in the middle of the night when he had a bad nightmare and he couldn’t go back to sleep, he found sort of comfort whenever he talked to her. 

David wasn’t a lonely person in the least, he had a lot of friends and he made sure to at least have a few conversations with people every day, but on days when he simply had too much work to do he would turn to Gwen to have that social connection. Then, to be frank, David’s never really had people at his apartment, sure for like parties and such but he’s never had someone intimately in his apartment. He’s never had someone where he could just speak whatever was on his mind or have those quiet moments with in the middle of the night. 

Well, if he was being technical, yes, he did have someone like that at one point but… that relationship didn’t quite work out. He was ashamed to admit it but it did lead to one of his less favorable moments, one of his very rare moments where he lost control of himself. 

David gave Gwen one last scratched before he got up to get the rest of his stuff, he hadn’t thought about Bonquisha in awhile. Now that he was thinking about it, they haven’t talked in awhile either. After the incident they fell out of touch, the awkwardness between them was just too much to get over, especially when she was still with the guy he swung a chair at. The scar the man carried now was something that David couldn’t handle seeing.

David stood where he had left his bag the night before, the man’s scar suddenly flashing in front of his eyes, serving a reminder to something that he kept hidden well for so long. He felt something so familiar start to crawl from the edges of his mind, carrying dark memories he’d rather leave in the forgotten place he put them. 

The red haired man closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in for a second before he held it. He tried to think of good memories he had, the first night he got Gwen was the one that popped up first.

He breathed out as his from turned up to a smile, the man with the scar being replaced with a tiny grey kitten. That crawling feeling washed away to something warmer and happier, she really was a cute thing when she was a baby. 

David came back to reality, nodding to himself as he was filled with new determination, he grabbed his bag and said a final goodbye to everything in his apartment before he left. 

As he was walking back to his car, he couldn’t help but go back to that undying curiosity in his chest, what was happening Campbell Institution? 

David asked himself at how he was suddenly standing in the doorway of the new patient, a file in his hand that he barely skimmed before he was shoved into the room. Behind him was his boss, watching him carefully in case he needed to come in to intervene again, next to him was some nurses they kept on hand just in case something happened. Then, standing next to them all was the therapist that was put on his hall before he got there, leaning against the wall while another nurse was applying some disinfectant to his bleeding hand. 

It was calm at first, it lulled him into a false sense of security when he walked through the workers entrance and found a completely okay and empty breakroom. Sure, usually it had at least one person in it but it wasn’t that uncommon to have no one in the room. But it was quiet, almost eerily so, and he kept that calmness until he opened the door. 

It was as if the break room was protecting him from the contained warzone that he was about to witness. Just as he opened the door, two nurses rushed passed him, one carrying a first aid kit while the other was muttering frantically to the other. “That kid is a monster”, was all David was able to catch before they were rounding the corner, his stomach dropping when he realized that it was his hall they were going into. 

He rushed forward to see what was happening that made the nurses start to rush around, he didn’t need to wait long before he found out why. As soon as he got around the corner to his hall, he was stopped by the sight before him. 

The therapist that took over for him last night was leaning against the wall, his face was scrunched up with pain as he was hunched over. David was confused to why the man was in pain until he walked closer, his eyes going wide as he saw he was holding his hand to his chest, blood dripping through his fingers. 

“Oh gosh, Greg!” David exclaimed as he rushed over to the man, careful to avoid the trail of droplets of blood that David could only guess that he left. He noted that it seemed to go past the closed door of a room he swore was empty yesterday. 

He stopped just before he got to Greg, the two nurses he saw pass by him were now in front of the other therapist. David going pale as he saw one of the nurses pull Greg’s hand out to assess the damage, it was a quick flash of why he was bleeding before the nurse pressed a clean bandage to slow the bleeding. The meat between his thumb and pointer finger was mangled, David could barely tell passed all the blood but there was small and odd shaped holes going deep into his hand on both sides in a curves row. David was no expert but to him it looked almost like a bite mark..?

He didn’t get the time to dwell longer on it as he looked up and found his boss walking towards him, an serious and slightly angry look on his face as he got closer to David. He felt a spike of fear through him as his boss got closer to him, looking like he was ready to break David over his knee as soon as he was in arm’s reach. 

Fortunately for David, that look wasn’t directed at him, rather directed at the folder in his hand as he shoved it into David’s chest as if it was on fire. Or it might have been directed at the people who brought the folder to him as the first words out of Mr. Ramsey’s mouth was a long string of cuss words. David at the moment had trouble deciphering who, or what, his boss was mad at so he turned his attention to the manilla folder that was now slightly crumpled in his hands. 

It was thin folder, from what he could tell from a quick skim it only contained a few papers, and only had the name ‘Max’ in black on the tab. The page he had landed didn’t give much details either, rather it was a transfer form for a ten-year old male to the institution. But after age and gender that was it, there was no picture that came with it, no last name and the space where the birthday went was blank. To make it worse, the words looked sloppily written, as if the person who wrote the transfer form was trying to do it as fast and as last minute they could. 

This only added to the mounting confusion that the situation David walked into was becoming. 

David snapped the folder shut before he could overwhelm himself, glancing back up to his boss with so many questions on the forefront of his mind but stopped himself when he found the man now next to Greg. He couldn’t help but wince with Mr. Ramsey when he moved the nurse’s hand over to see the damage, both hissing at the bits of skin that were hanging off his hand.

David watched in silence as his boss looked up and spoke to the other therapist, they were too quiet for David to overhear the conversation but by the relief in the smile that Greg gave his boss gave him the impression that he wasn’t going to see his coworker any time soon. 

Mr. Ramsey nodded, giving the man a pat on the back before he turned and walked towards David, a dark scowl back on his lips. When he got close enough that David knew he would hear him, he let the questions that were screaming out the most in his mind slip past his lips in a quick rush. 

“What’s happening? Does the Max in this file our new patient? Did Greg get hurt by Max? It says he’s ten! How would a ten year old cause this much damage, if so he’s very aggressive and if i’m being honest, we’re not suited for a kid that violent! With that, why is there nothing but transfer papers in this folder? I don’t even see an ID in-”

David had progressively started to talk faster as he let any question that came to his mind out. Which lead to him just rambling questions too fast for Mr. Ramsey to even care about deciphering the mess that was tumbling out of his mouth. 

The older man held up a hand to stop before he could start to explain, his words were short and edged with anger but by the end of it he just sounded tired. “These two dicks came into my office this morning with that file”-he motioned to the manilla folder in David’s hand-”and a kid in tow. They said that this kid needed therapy or something around the lines of needing some type of behavioural help? They gave me a bullshit reason and then got the hell out of dodge after.”

His boss sighed as he raised his hand to rub his face, “I called Campbell to get this shit sorted out but apparently it’s some under the table stuff, paying him extra to keep this kid or whatever. He was vague as fuck and it pisses me off cause the bastard just said he had minor behavior problems but we see how minor they are!”

Mr. Ramsey worked himself up again as he took another glance to Greg, his explanation ending in an almost yell that, to David, was directed at no one. 

David knew about some… not so legal and secret deals Dr. Campbell would make, but he would never look at the man in the wrong way because of it! Everyone had reasons right? Maybe Dr. Campbell saw some potential in this ‘Max’ and he wanted the best future for him!

David kept those positive thoughts at the front of his mind as he looked up to his boss, his features scrunched up as he went over his boss’s rant again. “Um Mr. Ramsey? That doesn’t explain why I’m here? There’s tons of qualified therapist here who could have easily taken over without me coming in?”

It was true, while it seemed like there was a mountain of work and too many patients for just David. They did have a staff of five, still not as many institutions would have but it was enough to get them through the amount of patients they had smoothly, trained and qualified therapists. So, while David appreciated the overtime hours that would probably show up on his paycheck, the man wasn’t necessarily needed. 

“Well, uh”, Mr. Ramsey seemed uncomfortable suddenly, he looked up at the ceiling as he scratched the back of his head. He was quiet for a minute as if he was searching for something to say, but the sigh that escaped the older man told David that he couldn’t find the right words. “Look, I’m just gonna be honest with you, David. I called you in cause you have experience in this whole ‘wild and violent’ behaviour deal”. 

David froze as he processed what his boss was saying, his eyes widening when he realized exactly when he was hinting at. He felt a phantom pain pinch his left hand as memories he tried to not remember too often flood his mind. He clutched his hands together to rub at the raised criss cross scar on the back on his hand. The pink skin that stood out against his pale skin was a permanent reminder of one of his most successful and most painful cases he’s had in his career. 

“Can I remind you that after we removed all the weapons that he had on him, Nurf was a tame case after?” David said, trying to bring reason into the conversation. He would like to call himself a competent therapist but that didn’t mean he could take on any case, he had his limitations. 

But, David knew better then try to reason with a man who was as bull headed and stubborn as Mr. Ramsey was. The smile that crossed the older man’s face told him that he had already made up his mind, any reasoning that David could bring up wouldn’t change anything from that moment forward. 

'I need to say no more', David thought to himself as he picked at the collar of his shirt, 'How can I be a therapist when I never think about myself!' 

'I need a vacation', was the last thing David thought of before he took in a deep breath, letting it out as one long sigh as he prepared himself for whatever this new patient, Max, had to offer. 

He opened the door and stepped into the room, trying his best to be as quiet as possible as he closed the door behind him, and turned around to glance around the room. He was surprised to see that the room was relatively clean, save for a chair that was flipped over and a few deep red drops that stood out on the shiny white floor. He had expected to see the room a mess, most of his cases that dealt with children and behavioral problems their rooms usually end up a disaster zone after an episode. 

"Didn't you guys get the hint with that last fucker?" 

David snapped up at the small angry voice, his eyes widening as he spotted Max on the bed. He was the smallest ten year old that David's ever seen, with caramel brown skin and a fluffy mass of curly black hair. He wore a ratty blue hoodie that was a size too big for him, a bright yellow shirt could be seen where his hoodie hung off his slight frame. He also had a old looking pair of faded jeans and a pair of beat up red and white sneakers, David pursed his lips as he saw some red spots dotting Max's jeans. 

David was rendered silent for a few seconds as he was locked into Max's eyes, the child's eyes being the brightest and clearest shade of green David's ever seen. While they were beautiful, it wasn't the color that made David froze, it was the fact that Max looked like a caged animal. His eyes filled with more anger than any ten year old should even begin to know. 

David caught himself and cleared his throat, a small comforting smile crossing his face as he tried to make himself look less threatening. "Hello Max, I'm David! I ca-"

"I don't give a fuck who you are!" Max harshly cut him off, uncurling from the corner of the bed to crawl off the bed. 

David recoiled at the pure venom in Max's voice. 

Max all but growled up at David as he stood in front of the bed, "I get pulled out of a shit foster home to be out in a fucking mental hospital?! I fucking think not!" 

David found a nervous frown starting to crawl across his lips as Max started to yell, he did the one thing he could do. "Max, please if you calm down, I can explain what's happening". 

A cruel looking smile crossed Max's face, "The fuck you can. Not even those pigs that brought me here could come up with an excuse for why I'm here. I've stayed in a lot of shit places but like hell will I stay in a goddamn mental hospital with all these other lunatics!" 

David could feel frustration start to build up as Max continued to yell at him, trying his best to keep his calm as he spoke again. "I can do the best I can, but I can't tell you anything if you keep yelling at me." 

David kept his voice soft and kind as he continued, "now, if you just sit down on the bed, we could talk-"

Max snorted, “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen, scrubs. Like hell am I going to just sit back and let you give me more bullshit”. 

David watched as Max’s green eyes flicked over his form, feeling weirdly self-conscious as the boy looked back up at him with a scoff. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off before he could even get the first word out. 

It was as if a switch had been flipped in the child as this time instead of yelling, he sounded as if he was trying to convince David, as if he was trying to make a deal. It was giving David whiplash from the sudden change in demeanor. 

“Look, I can make your job easier, yeah?” Max started, “You saw what happened to the last guy who came in here and tried all that psychobabble on me, we can avoid that whole painful situation if you just let me walk out of here.”

“Ex-excuse me?” David stared down at Max in bewilderment, was he hearing this right?

“You heard me! You can just let me walk out of here and no one would know the difference. Hell, the way your boss was staring at me after they took that other guy out, he would be more than happy to turn a blind eye”. Max continued on, as if what he was saying made perfect sense to the other man.

David felt his left eye twitch as he listened to Max. He didn’t know if it was from the lack of sleep, or the fact that he had to come in on one of his only days off or that he was thrust into this situation with a little more than nothing or if it was just the day as a whole. What he did know was that the more he listened to Max, the more his frustration started to build. Every word that the child said with confidence was another word that grated across his already frayed and thin patience. 

He started to crumple the thin manila folder between his hands as his chest started to burn with pent up anger. He stayed silent as he tried to rein in his anger but found it to be too much for him and finally snapped. 

“Enough!”

David didn’t know where it came from, he was normally a calm and passive person, but something about Max had worked him up enough to yell. Which seemed to be a surprise to Max as the boy froze mid-word, now it was his turn to stare up at David with wide eyes. 

David felt a twinge of regret as he saw a hint of fear in Max’s eyes but, still fueled by his own frustrations, continued. “I don’t know where you got the idea that you can just walk out of here and everyone be okay with it! And if by some miracle, you do get out of here by yourself, there is at least two miles of forest surrounding this place! There is no possible way you could safely walk that”.

David took a second to breath before starting again, he lowered his voice this time so he wasn’t yelling but his tone held a finality to it. “You are our responsibility now, more specifically mine, and I will not allow any of my patients to put themselves in danger”. 

Max seemed to understand exactly what David was trying to get at as he scowled, anger flooding his green eyes once again. 

“I’m going to make your life a living hell if you keep me here”. Max literally growled up at the older man. 

David reached up to rub his face with one hand as a sigh worked its way passed his lips, his anger slowly fading away leaving him now only feeling tired. As bad as it may have sounded, David didn’t want to deal with this anymore. He wanted to cuddle his cat and lay in bed for the day off he was promised. 

David dropped his arm to his side as he gave Max a tired look, “I’m sure you will Max but if that means you’ll have a safe place to stay, then I’ll gladly be put through hell.

For now though, I’m going to give you some time to cool off, if you need anything that button”, David pointed the red call button on the wall next to the bed, “will alert a nurse or a therapist and they’ll get you anything you need.”

Max didn’t bother to turn to look at where David was pointing, the boy continued to glare up at David, the look filled with malice and pure hate. 

“I’ll be back before dinner, Max. We’ll talk more then,” David said, a small smile flashing across his face before he turned and left the room. He heard the start of a protest but it was cut off as the door shut behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome the new arrival to the story! He's a bit of a tiny firecracker but still lovable.   
I hope you enjoyed reading and I'll -hopefully- see you next week with a chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for those of you who made it through the first chapter! i hope to get more out in a steady pace rather then my usual all at once or once every couple of months!


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